Anti-Conventional Wisdom

Although it's still a year before the Republican National Convention, activists here and around the country are already teeming with protest plans and ideas. Why in the world would the party of kleptocrats choose America's largest and most diverse city, hardly a GOP stronghold, as the site of their coronation of George W. Bush for a second term? Well, that's easy. Remember 9-11? And, come to think of it, with Wall Street headquartered here, the Republicans probably think it is their stronghold.

The GOP's power, however, will be met with power. A critical mass of demonstrators and activists is getting ready to swarm the fat cats like so many yapping dogs. Veteran activist Steve Ault, one of those involved right now in meetings with a segment of the troops, marvels at "the level of buzz and activity already." And why not?

"It's all scripted," Ault says of the convention. "It's a big public relations scam, and the people of New York are the fucking propsthe Republicans are using suffering as a prop." Of course, maybe the GOP wants confrontation for its televised circus.

In any case, what follows is a very preliminary and partial list of groups gleaned from those that have signed on at counterconvention.org and rncnotwelcome.org, plus assorted other organizations and websites:

Click on "nyc cop watch" for valuable information on dealing with Officer Unfriendly. And see the lists of disparate social justice groups, including ones for Indians and Filipinas. This site also features extensive readings, including background information on COINTELPRO, the infamous FBI action from 1956 to 1971 against activists.

An organization of "women of independent means" who follow Barbara Ehrenreich's dictum that "dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." The Babes, along with the Ruckus Society (see below) and global exchange (globalexchange.org), hired a boat and welcomed Bush to the UN last September with a huge banner above the East River that said, "Earth to Bush: No Iraq War." (Check it out at earthtobush.com.) Now they're pouring money and energy into codepink: women for peace (code pinkalert.org).

Committee On Arrangements For The 2004 Republican National Conventionfec.gov(Federal Election Commission) opensecrets.org (Center for Responsive Politics)

Looking to see how your bank fees and insurance premiums are being used? Keep an eye on campaign finance reports filed by this group, a vehicle (along with the New York City Host Committee) used by the GOP to finance its big show. The latest reports, incidentally, show the Republicans taking out huge loans from Wachovia Bank to start paying for their coronation activities. Apparently, deficit financing is OK for plutocratic celebrations, but it can't be used to pay for food, education, health care, and housing for the rest of us. Oh, and you try getting an interest-free loan from Wachovia, as the GOP did.

Working list of groups mobilizing against the RNC. Site includes a helpful list of protestable addresses, including those of the Carlyle Group (520 Madison Avenue, at 52nd Street, 41st floor) and Bechtel (21 East 40th Street, at Fifth Avenue, sixth floor).

" . . . we are planning to re-create the massive demonstration during the 1992 Democratic National Convention called for United for AIDS Action so that the damaging policies on welfare, criminal justice, racial justice, immigration, housing and healthcare can be reversed, therefore stopping the spread of HIV here in NYC, the United States, and globally."

Invaluable Oakland, California, group with information for training activists. Among many useful topics, see the Ruckus Society Media Manual at ruckus.org/man/media_ manual.html. For the more athletic protesters, there's "How to Hang Yourself From an Urban Structure" (though it cautions that "a good activist is a living activist"): ruckus.org/man/hanging.html.

Huge anti-war coalition's info-packed site. "We organized the massive February 15 anti-war rally in New York City and will be organizing an equally massive march on August 29, 2004, to kick off the week of protest against the Republican National Convention." Check out such useful info as "How to Plan an Action."

Ingenious deck of cards with detailed interactive info on Bush and his assorted knaves. "This is no Sunday bridge club. These are individuals and institutions that stack the deck against democracy in the rigged game of global power. Exposing their place in the house of cards illuminates the links among corporations, institutions, and government officials that profit from endless war." The cards are for sale, but you can download the images for free and slap them on T-shirts and posters.

A venerable international organization with branches in Brooklyn, Manhattan, New Jersey, and Connecticutand the Hamptons. Experienced organizers of anti-war protests and peace vigils. Downloadable flyers.

Anti-war group based in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Want to make MP3 copies of Dubya saying unequivocally that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Here's a useful guide for editing soundbites from the White House website, including how to convert them from RealAudio: why-war.com/ resources/guides/2003/06/realaudio.html.

For those who want to move the Democrats back to progressive stances, try the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club's listserv, based in Berkeley, California.

Of course, there are scores of groups and sites not named above that will be involved in the protests. And among the other groups that have already signed up on counterconvention.orgare the Jersey City Peace Movement, Bean (a student activist group in Providence, Rhode Island, that's "looking to do direct action @ RNC"), Peace (activists in Wilmington, North Carolina, who will "probably put something together in our home town to show our support of what you're doing"), and Smear (a "concerned local activist group experienced in organizing nonviolent direct actions around social and environmental issues").